Upcoming events at LGNC:
Activities Include:
- Hawk counting in the Lehigh Gap
- Monarch butterfly tagging
- Guided nature walks and programs on the Lehigh Gap Wildlife Refuge
- Artisans selling and demonstrating their crafts
- Crafts for families
- Food
- Music
Schedule of Events:
- 9:00 a.m. — Family Bird Walk. Join us for a beginner bird walk around the Osprey House! Binoculars will be provided.
- 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. — Monarch Tagging and Insect Safari. Search for butterflies and other bugs in the gardens and meadows around the Nature Center! Tag monarch butterflies to help scientists better understand the mysteries of butterfly migration. Insect nets will be provided.
- Noon — Native Garden Tour. Learn what’s in bloom in LGNC’s native plant gardens! We will also introduce visitors to our new sensory garden.
- 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. — Live Music by Good Times Piano Music. Musician Joe Lazorik will perform on the front porch of the Osprey House!
- 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. — Family-friendly exhibits and activities at the Osprey House (outdoors):
- Raptor ID and monarch butterfly information
- Native plants
- Hawk counting
- Crafts
- Afternoon and Evening — Jay Davenport Art Show. Local artist Jay Davenport and his students will be exhibiting their artwork in the Great Hall!
*Masks required indoors and will be available if needed.
Nature in Art Online for Kids!
Explore the art in nature through online art classes with Lehigh Gap Nature Center’s education team! Children ages 5-12 and their families are invited to make crafts from natural materials that they can find outside their homes. On a live, interactive Zoom class, we will guide participants through each craft, step by step.
Classes are FREE, but registration is required. Ahead of each class, we will publish a list of all materials (not provided by LGNC) that will be needed to complete the craft. The Zoom link will be shared with all families who register through EventBrite.
Thursday, September 30 (4:00-5:00 p.m.): Wind Chimes!
Participants will make their own wind chimes! Materials needed ahead of class: tin can, plastic bottles, or red-solo plastic cup; hot glue or a glue stick; tape; scissors; pack of beads; decorations: construction paper, paint, stickers; twine or yarn
Register here!
Gourd Art with Christina Drugatz
Students will be guided by Christina in painting and designing their very own gourd creation to take home! You can choose to make a bird house or leave the gourd whole for decoration. Gourds will be weather proofed for outdoor use. Kids are welcome!
Interested in creating a seasonal gourd? Perhaps pumpkins, ghosts, or skulls for Halloween, Santa, trees, or snowmen for Christmas? Pick any idea you have, and Christina will help you make it come to life!
Registration fee: $50 per gourd for LGNC members, $60 per gourd for non-members. All supplies included!
LGNC members: register here Non-members: register here
Classes will meet in person in LGNC’s outdoor pavilion.
About the Instructor:
Christina Drugatz is a local artist offering her unique ”paint your own gourd” classes here at the LGNC! She has been painting for over 15 years and is a Visual Media student at LCCC. She is also a mother of twin boys and an avid gardener.
Youth in grades 7 through 12 are invited to join the Naturalist Club, LGNC’s extracurricular environmental club for middle and high school students! Members of this club are involved with year-round educational activities, outdoor adventures, and research projects at the refuge. For more information or to sign up, please contact LGNC Program Specialist Chad Schwartz at chad.schwartz@lgnc.org.
Youth in grades 7 through 12 are invited to join the Naturalist Club, LGNC’s extracurricular environmental club for middle and high school students! Members of this club are involved with year-round educational activities, outdoor adventures, and research projects at the refuge. For more information or to sign up, please contact LGNC Program Specialist Chad Schwartz at chad.schwartz@lgnc.org.
Run the refuge! New race route each year. See www. lgnc10k.com for more info and to register.
Join us for a discussion of Erik Larson’s Isaac’s Storm!
About the Cabin Fever Book Club:
The Cabin Fever Book Club meets once a month during the fall and winter months to discuss fascinating books on such topics as ecology, environmental history, and environmentalism. The 2021-22 Cabin Fever Book Club meetings will take place from 10:00 a.m. to noon on the dates listed below! Books will be available at the Palmerton and Slatington libraries, Lehigh Gap Nature Center, and on Amazon.com (at a cost). Please contact us at mail@lgnc.org if you have any questions, or if you would like to lead a discussion!
Until we can safely meet in person again, all Book Club meetings will take place on Zoom.
2021-2022 Cabin Fever Book Club Reading List:
December 16, 2021: Have Dog Will Travel by Stephen Kuusisto
January 20, 2022: The Last Viking by Stephen R. Bown
February 17, 2022: Nature’s Best Hope by Doug Tallamy
Join us for wreath-making, holiday crafts, and nature activities!
Youth in grades 7 through 12 are invited to join the Naturalist Club, LGNC’s extracurricular environmental club for middle and high school students! Members of this club are involved with year-round educational activities, outdoor adventures, and research projects at the refuge. For more information or to sign up, please contact LGNC Program Specialist Chad Schwartz at chad.schwartz@lgnc.org.
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Landscaping for Communities & Wildlife
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News and Current Events:
Michal Kubik Memorial Fund
2020 Nature in Art Virtual Show!
LGNC’s 2020 Nature in Art Virtual Show is now live!
Anita Collins has put together a virtual art show of all winners from past events. To view the show please Click Here!
LGNC Online Learning Series
Introducing a new online video series from LGNC!
While our in-person programs for schools and the community are on hold for the time being, our education team has been busy creating virtual education resources for all to use and enjoy! New videos are now being posted regularly to our YouTube page. In addition to species spotlights, we are putting together a variety of science lessons and virtual tours of the Refuge!
Here is the link to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/LGNC_YouTube
Be sure to like our videos and subscribe to our channel!!!
LGNC Restoration Mini Documentary
Dan Kunkle's Retirement and LGNC Transition!
Thanks to Times News Lehighton for their recent article on Dan Kunkle’s tenure as Executive Director of LGNC! While Dan will be retiring at the end of this month, he will be joining the LGNC Board as Director Emeritus. Current staff members Chad Schwartz and Brian Birchak will serve as Co-directors of the Nature Center beginning on January 1, 2020.
Remembering Bill Mineo
It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Bill Mineo, one of LGNC’s founding members. We mourn the loss of this key figure in Lehigh Gap Nature Center’s creation and success. Click here for the Autumn 2017 Wildlife Activist (#81) to read a recent Board member spotlight article on Bill. Also, click here to view Bill’s obituary. Our condolences to the family.